Francis Drake
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vice Admiral Sir Francis Drake (around 1540 – January 28, 1596) was an English sailor and explorer. Beginning around 1563, he and his cousin, Sir John Hawkins became the first Englishmen to sell slaves from Africa in the New World. In Panama in 1573, he captured a fortune in silver and gold that the Spanish had seized from the Native Americans, and became the first Englishman to see the Pacific. He was also the first Englishman to sail all the way around the world. Because of this, he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth I. Later, he was second in command of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
